The present invention relates to dental endosteal implants, with devices to aid in the placement of the implant, and procedures for placing the implant.
In recent years, dental endostral implants have been implanted through the tissue of the aveolar ridge into the jaw bone. Such implants are described in several patents and the publications cited therein, particularly U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,293,302; 4,220,712; 4,079,515 and 3,849,887. If properly placed, these implants are eventually affixed by bone ingrowth with the aid of serrated or porous portions within the implant.
In all noted cases the implant is placed into a straight or possibly tapered hole which is drilled into the jaw bone or in the root opening left when a tooth is extracted. This technique has the disadvantages of the jawbone being too soft to stabilize the implant, or the implant becoming loosened prior to the formation of bone ingrowth to "lock" the implant into the jaw.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,712, and improvement to this technique utilizes spreadable metal tips which are driven into the jawbone to stabilize the implant. However, the force necessary to drive the tips into the bone may cause the bone to crack.
Once that implanted portion is stabilized in the jaw bone by ingrowth and the attachment of periodontal ligaments to the implant, an artificial crown is secured to the protruding stem of the implant, usually through the use of an epoxy resin. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,712, the implanted stem is made in two pieces such that the protruding stem is screwed into the lower implanted portion. The cap is then applied using an epoxy.